Sports

Chicago Cubs Hire Sleep Doctor and Priest To Break Playoff Slump

by Jon Azpiri | October 3, 2008 at 09:11 am

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The struggling Chicago Cubs are willing to try anything to get a playoff win, including hiring a sleep doctor. After losing two games to the LA Dodgers, the Cubbies worked with a sleep doctor to make sure the team was well-rested in before heading out to the West Coast for Friday's game.

"He said that we should stay overnight tonight instead of travel after the ballgame and leave tomorrow so that everybody can get their full balance of sleep. ... We'll see if he's right or not after the third game in Los Angeles."

Hiring a sleep doctor is hardly the strangest move the Cubs have made an effort to finally end their 100-year World Series drought. On Wednesday, the team brought a Greek orthodox priest to bless the Cubs dugout. Cubs Chairman Crane Kenney contacted Rev. James Greanias and asked him to bless the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field in the hopes of finally lifting the so-called "Billy Goat Curse" that has plagued the team for decades.

The Billy Goat curse, immortalized by columnist Mike Royko and others, was purportedly placed on the Cubs in 1945 when Billy Goat Tavern owner William Sianis was denied entrance to a World Series game at Wrigley Field because he wanted to bring in his goat.

Kenney told Greanias that they wanted a Greek Orthodox priest to bless the dugout, because the alleged curse was placed by a Greek-American, Greanias said.

"It's not for ensuring the Cubs winning, but for being safe and protected," Greanias said. "I'm a priest first, and a Cubs fan second. I don't want anything to be mocked, and neither did Mr. Kenney."

That's not the only curse they have to deal with. The Cubs may also fall victim to the "Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx" after outfielder Kosuke Fukudome appeared on the cover of SI with a headline suggesting the Cubs may finally win it all this year.